Scousesubs

SUBMARINERS TIMES


The newsletter of the
Submariners’ Association
Merseyside Branch

President: Commander Ian Fraser, VC, DSC

REMEMBRANCE

We remember, as always the boats and their brave crews that remain on “Eternal Patrol”
And particularly mention those that were lost in May, June, July.

SEAL, UNDAUNTED, OLYMPUS UNTAMED.

THETIS, ODIN, GRAMPUS, ORPHEUS, P514, SIKLE.

SHARK, SALMON, PHOENIX, NARWHAL, UMPIRE, UNION, CHACHALOT.

“We will remember them”



OBITUARIES

F.S. (Fred) Rising. PO Elec. S/M Service:- 1943-1953. Served in:- Sunfish P1314 Thermopylae Teredo Trespasser Aeneas.
C.A. (Alan) Wilson. EM.1. S/M Service:-1954-1955. Served in:-Tiptoe Alcide
G H Booth Clibborn POSA.Joined Submarine Service in May 1960. Served in:- Rorqual DreadnoughtRevenge StarboardRecord card ends in 1968
G. (George) Skinner. MBE (Lt.Cdr.). S/M Service:- 1947-1950.Served in:-Tantalus Talent
D.L. (Dave) Spencer. WO.(Coxn). Submarine Service:- 1970-1990. Served in:- Revenge(S) Superb Sceptre Trenchant Talent.
W.C. (Bill) Shadbolt. L/Sea. N. S/M Service:- 1933-1945. Served in:- L56 Salmon Clyde Sea Lion Thames H33 Shark.
G. (George) O'Donnell. Sto.Mech. S/M Service:-1951-1957 Served in:-Subtle Selene Solent Thermopylae. S/M Service:-1951-1957
Lt. Cdr Rowland (Bill) Sykes, Thermopylae's first C.O. Aeneas, Thermopylae and Solent, during the period 1950-1958.
R. R. McInnes Able Seaman UW3Served in Ocelot. 1963-1968.
J. (Joe) Alford. CPO.Coxn. Submarine service:- 1954-1974. Served in:-Token Tally-Ho Trenchant Sentinel Scorcher Acheron Artemis Truncheon Anchorite Tiptoe Aeneas.
F.R. (Bob) Morby. Sto.1. S/M service:-1946-1957. Served in:-Thermopylae Tabard Alliance Solent.
M. (Nobby) Grant. PO.Elec. S/M Service:-1942-1952. Served in:- P512 L23 Spiteful Truncheon Tactician Statesman Sturdy X2 Teredo Sidon Selene
John Tait LM(E) D/SKX. Served in:-Anchorite,and Trenchant and also HMS Devonshire
R.D. (Bob) Peel. Sto.1 S/M Service:-1943-1946. Served in:-Volatile Varne Tantivy. S/M Service:-1943-1946.
H. (Harry) Warner. CPO.Coxn S/M Service:-1943-1952.. Served in:-Stonehenge Templar Tiptoe Subtle Acheron Alliance.
G. (George) Luck. DSM CPO.Coxn. S/M service:-1941-1947. Served in:-Rorqual P217 P339 Taurus Affray. Awarded DSM in Taurus for War Patrols in Eastern
LME Dave Michie. Served in:- Churchill and Sovereign.
GEORGE HOWELL. Ldg. Sea. H.S.D. Served in:- Taku; Rorqual; Volatile; Astute; Totem; Truncheon; Affray & Auriga.
L. (Les) Thorpe. CPO.Coxn. Submarine Service:-1941-1965. Served in:-Proteus Sunfish Spearhead Auriga Tiptoe Thermopylae
F. (Fred) Jackson. PO.LTO. Submarine Service:- 1943-1946. Served in:- Varangian Scotsman
D. (Rick) Fleming. AB.UW3. AUSTRALIA. Submarine Service 1954-1960. Served in:-Thule Telemachus Tapir Auriga Andrew
W.H. (Harry) Bibb. L/Sea.HSD. AUSTRALIA. Submarine Service 1944-1951. Served in:- Seraph Sanguine Templar Tantivy Saga Seneschal Ambush Spiteful.
Banks D. (David) CPO. MEM. Submarine Service 1962-1983. Served in:-Olympus(62-63) Taciturn(63-66) Tabard(66-67) Porpoise(67-69) Renown(70-80).
Chief Engine Room Artificer Peter J Weeks Submarine Service 1945 - 1965 Served in:- SENTINEL, TAPIR, TURPIN, ARTEMIS, AURIGA, ARTFUL, STURDY, ANCHORITE, TACITURN and CACHALOT.

From the Editor

I apologise for the lateness of this newsletter but as some of you have heard my wife and I hit the headlines by shutting down the Old Mersey Tunnel for a few hours. On the way to pick up George Le Marre and then to proceed to Hull for the ‘Submariners Mini Cruise’ our car caught fire! “Why does everything happen to me underwater”. Needless to say we missed the cruise but George valiantly carried on and actually made it.
Once again as I wrote the Obituaries up I have noticed a couple of names that I knew. Firstly our own branch member George Luck who will be greatly missed and Dave Spencer an old shipmate of mine from my Sceptre days. Dave was buried in Cyprus where I am about to go on holiday so I feel it is my duty to visit the grave as Dave had no NOK.
Well Astute finally was launched the naming ceremony went well but the boat didn’t get its bottom wet until 6 days later due to technical difficulties. At least now she is in her natural environment.


Brain Teaser

Now did anyone know last month’s teaser?

How many X craft were there?
Prototypes
X3 — built by Varley Marine, Hamble, scrapped 1945
X4 — built by Portsmouth Dockyard, scrapped 1945
X5-type
X5 — built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, used in Operation Source, scuttled 22 September 1943
X6 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Source, scuttled Altenfjord 22 September 1943
X7 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Source, scuttled Altenfjord 22 September 1943, salved 1976 for museum restoration
X8 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Source, scuttled in 17 September 1943
X9 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Source, foundered under tow in North Sea October 15,
X10 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Source, scuttled in North Sea 3 October 1943
X20-type
X20 — built by Broadbent, Huddersfield, used in Operation Gambit
X21 — built by Broadbent
X22 — built by Markham, Chesterfield, collided with HMS Syrtis and lost with all hands while training February 7, 1944
X23 — built by Markham, used in Operation Gambit, sold 1945
X24 — built by Marshall, Gainsborough, attacked Laksevåg floating dock at Bergen, hulked 1945
X25 — built by Marshall, sold 1945
Training craft
XT1 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XT2 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XT3 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XT4 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XT5 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XT6 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
First group
XE1 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Struggle, scrapped 1945
XE2 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XE3 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Struggle, scrapped 1945
XE4 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Sabre, scrapped 1945
XE5 — built by Vickers, used in Operation Foil, scrapped 1945
XE6 — built by Vickers, scrapped 1945
XE7 — built by Broadbent, scrapped 1952
XE8 — built by Broadbent, scrapped 1952
XE9 — built by Markham, scrapped 1952
XE10 — built by Markham, cancelled incomplete 1945
Second group
XE11 — built by Marshall, collided with boom defence vessel in Loch Striven and lost 6 March 1945, salvaged
XE12 — built by Marshall, cannibalised for spares 1952
Third group with minor improvements built 1954-5. (See also )
X51 Stickleback - to Swedish Navy as Spiggen
X52 Shrimp
X53 Sprat - to US Navy
X54 Minnow
Now did you get them all and to show why they didn’t start at X1 here is a bit on X1 and X2
HM Submarine X1 was, conceived and designed as a submersible commerce raider for the Royal Navy. The idea of a submarine cruiser had been mooted as early as 1915, but was not put into practice until 1921. X1 was laid down on the 1921 at the Naval Dockyard Chatham and completed on 23 September 1925, commissioning in December 1925. MAN diesel engines had been fitted to her as they had been seen to be efficient when fitted in German U-boats of the First World War. Unfortunately, in the case of X1 this did not occur and she was to suffer with engine problems all her short life.
HM Submarine X2 was the name given to the former Italian submarine Galileo Galilei (captured by the Royal Navy in June 1940) when she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in June 1942 as a training submarine in the Far East. She was later renamed as P711.

Branch Business.

Submariners Memorial Service

The Annual Submariners Memorial Service will be held on 14 July 2007 At Our Lady and St Nicholas with St Anne (The Sailors Church)

Web Site.

A new web site is under construction details will follow soon.

Other Notices

Anyone in Sydney this September

Sydney Australia Sunday September 30 2007, there will be a Plaque unveiling at H.M.A.S.Penguin Balmoral to Commemorate the Submariners and Submarines that have served in Australia. The unveiling will be carried out by a Submarine dignitary yet to be named. The event will be followed by a reunion lunch; this will be fully catered for in the way of food and drinks
Muster 10.30

Unveiling 11.00
Up Spirits 12.00
Lunch 12.30

Tickets $65 per person they can be obtained by sending a cheque or money order to


Tom McCammont 2-17 Charles Kay Drive Terrigal New South Wales 2260
Organizers Pat Cullum 0267935294 Tom McCammont 0243847643

WAR MEMORIALS TRUST

The charity that works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK is approaching its 10 Anniversary in 2007. Since it was established the charity has helped 500projects nationwide allocating £350,000 through its grant schemes. But it cannot undertake this work alone as it relies entirely on voluntary funding. If you would like to support its work send a donation, or join (£20annual, £100 life), to Winston S Churchill President, 4 Lower Belgrave Street, London, SW1W 0LA, or to report a war memorial concern telephone 020 7259 0403, email info@warmemorials.org or visit www.warmemorials.org



Thanks to Navyphotos.co.uk for permission to use their photographs.